A Night of Darkness
by missgemmaaa
Summary: AU to Servant of Two Masters. Instead of using the Fomorrah, Morgana uses the nithair on Merlin, inflicting waves of agony on him. No slash, please R&R!


**A/N: Hey fellow Merlin fanatics! This is a oneshot based off the events of The Servant of Two Masters. It takes place after Morgana treated Merlin's wound, but instead of healing, she only removed the infection so he wouldn't die on her. The opening scene is Morgana waking Merlin up for the third time.**

 **Quick disclaimer: I don't earn Merlin yet, but I'm trying…**

 **Here goes:**

O~o~O

Morgana's nasty laugh, if it could be referred to as such, filled the still-dark hovel.

"This, Merlin, is a nithair. Quite harmless, really, unless a little magic is involved. Then, it's bite is one of the most painful thing known to man. Would you like to try it?"

"Do I have a choice?" Merlin wheezed, the mace would on his shoulder now uninfected, but still quite painful.

"No, not really, I suppose. Now, are you ready?" Morgana seemed almost excited at the prospect of torturing Merlin.

"Why are you doing this, Morgana? Revenge isn't really your style."

"Revenge? Is that what you think this is? Oh, no, Merlin; you see, I need information. I need to know how much my dear brother trusts Agravaine – oh, don't give me that look, I know you know Agravaine is working against him. He told me you don't like him, but I know that means you know about his true loyalties – his situation is compromised. How much have you told Arthur?" Morgana was slowly getting closer to Merlin, to the point where her breath was warm against his cold, blood-loss affected skin.

"Oh, wouldn't you love to know that." Merlin gave a weak, sarcastic chuckle, staying to his pretence of bravado. The mention of Arthur, however, had brought back the memory of the last he had scene of the king. A panicked face, reaching towards him as the rocks fell, the terrible cry of 'Merlin!' still echoing throughout the head of the subject. The scene faded from Merlin's mind was Morgana appeared right in his face.

Morgana's face hardened. "So be it."

The hand holding the nithair darted forwards, straight for Merlin's neck, and suddenly the world was a whirlwind of pain. The creature seemed to have wormed its way into Merlin's very soul, seeking his darkest secrets and bringing them to light, with a voice in his head saying 'All you need to do is say it. Tell Morgana _everything, and the pain will be gone.'_ He heard distant screaming, and the part of his mind that was still sane connected it to his own burning throat.

Then it was gone.

No. not gone, simply… silent. The pain, waves and waves of it, was still there, his body still screaming out for salvation, but the magic inside him had risen, forming a thin barrier between the nithair's poison and the rational part of Merlin's mind. This, however, didn't achieve much. Merlin had no idea how much time had passed, but his body, still injured and weak, was exhausted, as was his mind from the strain of resisting Morgana's efforts.

So everything just… shut down.

As the darkness closed in, Merlin heard a brief scream of frustration, before blacking out completely.

O~o~O

When Merlin awoke for the fourth time, it was surprisingly peaceful. The afternoon sun filtered through the small window onto Merlin's face, warming him slightly. Yes, his body ached, and yes, his mind was in no way recovered, but the dread that he had been feeling was gone.

Then he realised – Morgana wasn't there.

Merlin slowly raised himself up and held his own weight, before turning to look around the hovel. Morgana was just… gone.

He considered his situation. He certainly didn't want to stay in his current predicament, and he _definitely_ did not want Round Two with the nithair. His magic was still bubbling close to the surface after recent events, and so Merlin though _'why not?'_ He let his magic flow into his wrists still chained to the ceiling, and snapped his restraints. He arms fell to his sides, and Merlin winced at the sudden movement. He had no idea how long he had been hanging there, but it had been at least two days.

That's when he made his first mistake – walking. As Merlin tried to take his first step, the reality of going at least two days without food and only the small amount of water Morgana had allowed him as she cleaned his wound caught up with him, not to mention the stabbing pain in his shoulder and the blood loss making him weak and dizzy without the other attributing factors. Merlin gasped as he fell to the rough floor, making his second mistake – trying to stop the fall by landing on his arms, and, his left shoulder being severely injured, this increased pain levels to an almost unbearable amount.

As the pain levels decreased, Merlin spotted a jug on the table next to him, the only table into the room. Fervently praying that it was full he boosted himself up and forwards, grabbing the table with his _right_ arm and pulling himself up. Almost crying to see that the jug was indeed full of water, he grabbed it and drank straight from the jug. After gagging from the first mouthful, his body slowly accepted the help and pain relief that only water could provide.

Satisfied, and feeling much stronger, Merlin suddenly felt the urgency of the situation. He had to get out of here, and _fast_. If Morgana came back and found him like this, death would be too painless and option, and Merlin did not want to think about the horrors that would be bestowed upon him. Gathering his wits about him, he quickly made his way out of the hovel and into the cover of the nearby trees, though he was none too steady on his feet. Merlin realised had no idea where he was.

Turning in circles a few times to try and get his bearings, Merlin saw a track that recently had a large party on it. Theorising that this was probably the way the bandits came, and if he followed it back he would have some idea of where he was, Merlin decided that this was his best option, and made his way down it, going as fast as he could to get away from a place Morgana would find him.

O~o~O

"What's that, over there?" Gwaine was pointing to an oddly shaped mound to the right of where he and Arthur were. Arthur stopped dead, before bolting to the prone figure.

"Merlin!" Arthur reached his manservant and fell to his knees next to him. "Merlin!" Arthur called out again, desperately searching for signs of life. Everything was still, then-

"Arthur?" A groan, nothing more, and fluttering eyelids.

"Oh, god, Merlin, you're alive!" A maniacal laugh followed, and the Gwaine was there, too.

"Merlin! Great to see you, bud," Gwaine breathed, cautious of how close to death Merlin was. Blue eyes appeared briefly, and a small grin, before Merlin collapsed back into unconsciousness.

"Merlin? Quick, Gwaine, he needs Gaius. Help me get him on my horse," Arthur ordered quickly, having just checked the mace would and seeing that, although seemingly uninfected, it was bleeding profusely.

"He's not out of the woods yet, I don't think," Gwaine agreed, complying with Arthur's demands. "I think he's going to make it, though."

"We'll see about that once Gaius sees him," Arthur replied, pursing his lips, before jumping onto his horst behind Merlin. "Let's go!"

O~o~O

Camelot came into view, and Arthur was both relieved and worried. They had been taking the journey as fast as they could, and Arthur felt sticky with blood in various states of drying that wasn't his.

"Come on, Merlin, you can do this," he muttered more to himself than to Merlin. The small figure in front of him hadn't moved or regained consciousness since they had found him. Gwaine gave him a brief, worried glance as they rode into Camelot proper, the horse's hooves clattering on the cobblestoned pathways. As they reached the palace, guards and stableboys came forwards to assist with the horses, and as Arthur jumper of his horse the guards helped Merlin down, knowing how much the young king cared for the man. Arthur retrieved Merlin from them, and took off at a run to the Physicians quarters.

"Someone find me Gaius!" He yelled over his shoulder, with Gwaine close behind him.

They reached the rooms quickly, and had only just laid Merlin down on bench when Gaius came bursting in.

"Oh, my boy. What have you done now?" Gaius murmured as he assessed the damage done to his ward.

"We found him lying on the ground not half a day's ride from Camelot," Arthur informed him, "and the mace wound seems to have been treated."

"Curious," Gaius remarked as he peeled the rudimentary bandages Gwaine and Arthur had placed there away from the wound. "There is no trace of infection, yet with this type of wound especially I would expect it. It's as if it's been purged from the wound, but the only way to do that is with magic."

Gwaine froze, lost in thought. "It must have been Morgana, then. She must have wanted something from him, wanted him to be in pain, but not die. Why? What makes Merlin so important?"

"Revenge," Gaius muttered. "It must be."

Arthur frowned. "Revenge? They used to be friends. What does revenge have to do with it?"

Gaius looked up. "That is Merlin's story to tell, not mine."

At that moment, Merlin stirred. "Gaius?" he whispered. "That you?"

"Yes, m'boy, it's me," Gaius responded. Then, addressing Gwaine: "Get me that glass of water, I imagine he hasn't had much in the way of it in the last few days. The wound is severe, but you should pull through, Merlin, though I wouldn't recommend trying this again."

Agravaine suddenly burst in the room. "I heard of your return, Sire, and came immediately. The council wished to convene after you've refreshed yourself to speak of the events of the last few days."

Merlin's eyes fixed on Agravaine as Arthur responded, not quite catching what was said. Another cup was pressed to his lips.

"Here, this'll you sleep while I treat your wound. Welcome home, Merlin."

 **And that's it! Hope you enjoyed, reviews are much appreciated. Thank you!**


End file.
